Charitable Contributions And Deductions - Private Charities

Private CharitiesPrivate charities are commonly known as "private foundations" since they are typically funded by large contributions from a small number of donors. Substantially, all of their contributions are from relatively few sources, so they rely on investment earnings as their source of ongoing support. Examples of private charities include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Private Foundations are typically classified as either "operating" or "non-operating" private foundations. The distinction lies in how they distribute their income and contributions. Operating private foundations are required to make timely qualifying distributions to those in need; whereas, non-operating private foundations are not required to make annual distributions.
Deduction Limitations and Carryover Periods